


Playing Easy

by connormckinley



Series: falsettos spur of the moment stories [1]
Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: < like one time by an angry fan, Alternate Universe - Baseball, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Development, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Heavy Angst, M/M, Not making this shit up, Physical abuse (once), a lot of news stories I guess, bam! fighting, bam! sex!, hidden relationships??, i write like two different drafts for each chapter, in chapter 12 I believe, it adds to the plot I swear, lots of wine and sex, minor-ish character injury, protip: listen to the OBC Chicago cast album when writing this story, slur warning, thats it, tw: hurting someone on purpose, when Marvin slams on the brakes, wow I'm more invested in this than anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-06 05:26:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11593860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connormckinley/pseuds/connormckinley
Summary: Marvin Richards was always against Whizzer Brown in baseball. Ever since high school, that is.He didn't think he'd ever have to play against him again, but it wasn't that much of a surprise when he and Whizzer got drafted for rival major league baseball teams.





	1. Marvin Richards: A Brief History

Marvin Richards loved baseball. He loved a good game to watch, one that left you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails and hoping you caught a fly ball. 

He loved baseball so much, that he started to play around seven years old, and it stuck with him ever since. Granted, he wasn't the best on the team, but he sure was quick, and had an arm, and was the only one willing to play third base.

In middle school he successfully made the team, as he did in high school as well. 

Surprisingly enough, Marvin peaked interest in high school when playing some amazing games as a third baseman, and having a, literally, out of the park batting average. Needless to say, he was drafted for little league, and he soon made his way up to the feeders into the major league cuts and scored himself a starting position. 

He loved the game, and it sure as hell loved him back. (At least that's what his wallet was going to be saying.)

The only worry that swam in the back of his head was the fact that Whizzer Brown was still out there somewhere, probably throwing his fastball into some poor kid's face. 

Whizzer Brown. The infamous pitcher from South Jefferson High, who threw fastballs and screwballs like nobody ever could. No wonder he got recruited so quickly. 

Marvin had a bitter meeting with Whizzer Brown in the state championships. 

All the boys, when riding on the bus to the field, were warning Marvin about this 'Brown guy' who would pretty much smash anyone in his way. 

Marvin didn't take any of it. He was usually cocky, but he felt really confident that day. 

When they had arrived, the boys were already talking about the boy on the mound, who was warming up his screwball. Marvin just took the time to watch him and studied his arm. 

Even though he had been cocky, he had to admit that this guy looked like he meant business. 

When the game had started, Marvin had a few good plays, and a solid hit into right field, one of the rare hits that he got off of Whizzer. 

The game had gotten more heated a little too quick. 

Sure, Whizzer was pretty attractive, fit, and his legs were perfect. Not to mention, the ass. Whew. But Whizzer just knew how to get in Marvin's head, and mess with him. 

One time when he came up to bat, Whizzer just sort of stood on the mound and looked at him. "Like what you see, Richards? Betcha do." He teased, throwing the ball into his own glove as the catcher behind him snickered. 

Marvin struck out four more times after that. 

The final inning was the worst of them all. Whizzer had hit a solid single, and Marvin just glared at him from third base. 

Marvin regretted this as soon as Whizzer looked at him and winked at him. 

Fuck. He couldn't let him get in his head, not now. They could try and win, just get the next kid out-

A hit. A hard hit, at least a double, and Marvin now stood into a ready position on third base, as the ball was thrown towards him. 

He was in a ready position until Whizzer slid into him, causing them both to fall on the ground, Marvin taking the blow mostly. 

"Oh, Marvie. Thanks for cushioning the fall for me." Whizzer winked, calling a time out so he could stand up on the base, and Marvin threw the ball back to the pitcher. 

If you haven't guessed it, Marvin's team lost by a long shot, and it was clear to see why. 

But that was three years ago, and now Marvin was twenty-one years old and ready to play his first major league game against their huge rival team. 

As the other team took their places on the field, Marvin made sure to see who was playing and if he knew anyone. 

"And making his pitching debut, twenty-year-old Whizzer Brown!"

Marvin swore he almost threw up. 

It was going to be a long season.


	2. Whizzer's Ass and Other Important Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter name should explain itself. I hope you guys are enjoying this - I think is the more 'fun' fic to write, considering "Whizzer Wins" took an unexpected turn. (I won't spoil anything!)

The game seemed to go on forever, and the roar of the crowd wasn't helping matters. Marvin had been quite antsy about being on deck, next to bat, practicing his swing, and working on how he was going to slam Whizzer's screwball out of the park, and there wasn't anything the asshole could do about it. 

He watched his new teammate take a bold swing at one of Whizzer's pitches, only missing by swinging high, causing him to tack on his third strike, and now Marvin was stepping up to bat. 

It was the first time he had finally been inside the batter's box, and it was a whole rush of feelings. But most of the feelings were positive, so he was okay with that. Except for the angry voice inside his head, trying to tell himself to fight Whizzer. 

How could he fight Whizzer? He looked damn good in those baseball pants. The way they were on his body, and how tight they were wasn't helping things either. 

As Whizzer turned around to kick up some dirt, he got an eye-full of Whizzer's ass and he swore his mouth was agape on live television. 

Yikes. 

Whizzer didn't stall after that, throwing in the first pitch as Marvin watched it go down the middle. 

Ball. 

Damn, that was suprising. Whizzer usually threw crazy strikes, or maybe he was just baiting him. It was most likely the latter, considering Whizzer always played mind games with Marvin. It was sort of pathetic. But Marvin wasn't one to say anything, considering he usually lost the games. 

Whizzer threw another, this one was even harder and faster, and Marvin swung. 

He made contact, but fouled it off into the crowd. 

One ball, one strike. 

He watched Whizzer with squinted eyes, keeping the setting sun out the best he could. 

The wind up, the pull back, and the throw. 

It was moving in at an alarming rate, and was lower than usual. It must have been a curve that went wrong, considering it hit Marvin right in the foot, and damn, did it hurt like a bitch. 

Marvin swore he said every word in the encyclopedia of swear words, and shook his head no as he halfheartedly jogged to first base. 

Whizzer obviously had good aim and was giving a free invitation to Marvin to kill him. 

There was no way that was a mistake!

Marvin now stood on first, leading off a little off of the base as the next hitter made solid contact, and Marvin continued to run to second base safely. 

This is not how he wanted to advance the bases. 

He wanted to hit the ball, not be hit by the ball and have the crowd go, "Ouch, that sounded like it hurt!"

In his defense, though, it did hurt.

But now here he was on second, getting another glimpse of Whizzer's ass, and he swore he was dreaming. 

He hated Whizzer a couple years past in high school, and now he was all heart eyes for his ass?

Then again, the view was amazing and Marvin wasn't complaining. 

That's when Whizzer turned around, and caught Marvin in the act. 

"Jesus, if you like like me that much you can meet me in the locker room, Richards." Whizzer snickered, the other players also laughing as Marvin felt his face redden a little with an angry huff. 

"Wouldn't you love that?" Marvin snapped back. 

Not what Whizzer was expecting, but he could roll with it. "Maybe with someone who was actually helf decent looking, yes. I don't date cavemen." Whizzer snapper almost automatically with a smirk. 

Marvin was left silent on that, as he just glared at Whizzer with angry eyes. 

He was going to get him, if it was the last fucking thing he did. 

_____

The game continued like that, Marvin getting on base (by hitting it this time), Whizzer saying some half sexual, half douchebag thing. 

Either way, it was going on television tomorrow most likely, and Marvin was sure to be interviewed about it. 

He noticed that Whizzer only teased him, as well. It set him off the edge sometimes, and made him really mad. 

The game ended in a most predictable fashion. 

Whizzer's team won, 10-2. 

Well what else did you think was going to happen?

_____

Marvin had a crowd of men around him in the locker room, all bombarding him with crazy questions about tonight's game. 

"Marvin, Marvin! Tell us what Whizzer Brown said to you when he was on the mound. I know you guys have microphones like the basketball players do, we do too, but they haven't showed us any video yet!"

Marvin just chuckled. "Well, then you'll see it in the video tomorrow. I don't really think it's open for discussion." 

"But we want to know!"

"But you'll find out tomorrow," Marvin assured with an eye roll. "Can anybody get me some ice? My foot hurts like hell."

Most of the boys had shuffled away, none of them really paying attention. Either they were leaving, losing interest, or didn't feel like getting ice for Marvin's foot. 

Marvin started to take off his shoes and socks, untying his cleats with a yawn. 

"Here, let me help you with that." A voice said above him, as Marvin looked up to thank him. 

There he was. With his perfect hair, perfect cocky smirk, perfect body, perfect legs, perfect... everything. There was Whizzer Brown, holding an ice pack in his hand as he grinned at Marvin. 

"Did you think I was lying?"


	3. The Ice Pack, Amongst Other Unimportant Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe you should keep those off.” Whizzer replied as he stood up as well, but now towering over Marvin with a grin.
> 
> “Huh?”
> 
> “Did I stutter?”
> 
> That was it. That was his invitation, at least Marvin thought. And he thought correctly.

What a bitch.

What a fucking bitch.

Poor Marvin hurt his foot, and now Whizzer was catering to him. Sure, Marvin thought the gesture was sweet, and made him blush a little, but he knew it was a spite move.

Marvin knew the games Whizzer played. He knew that there was no way he was sincere about any of this, and there wasn't any chance that they were going to gel.

He was right about one of those.

“Sorry about hitting you. Swear it wasn't intentional.” Whizzer replied, sitting down on the bench across from Marvin, propping Marvin’s leg up on his knee. “How much does it hurt?”

“Like a bitch. Hurts so bad.” Marvin sighed as the ice was placed on his skin, as he winced at the contact.

“Again, I'm sorry. Lighten up and take off the angry straight man façade. Okay?” Whizzer joked, raising an eyebrow as he smirked at Marvin.

And there was the smirk. How could he say no to that? When Whizzer did the little smirk, his whole brain pretty much exploded. “Fine. Whatever.” Even though he replied with ‘fine’, he didn't seem to follow Whizzer’s advice.

“Lighten up. Everyone’s leaving, take off the mask.” Whizzer replied, looking at Marvin, who was changing his shirt in his sitting position. Whizzer started to let his eyes wander. Marvin, of course, (considering he was a baseball player) had muscle on him. Everything looked a little bit finer up close, and his arms.

Holy fucking shit. How could someone have that nice of arms?

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Marvin teased back, a lopsided sort of grin on his mouth as he looked at Whizzer.

Whizzer huffed. “I wasn't looking at-” He saw Marvin’s raised eyebrow, and his tone softened. “Fine. I really just was wondering how someone could have that nice of arms, Marvin Richards.”

Marvin sighed as he took the ice off. “Lifting mostly, you're not too shabby yourself, Whizzer Brown.”

The tension was strong.

Marvin didn't know how much more he could take.

“Why thank you, kind sir.” Whizzer grinned, taking the ice as Marvin started to take off his pants without a word. “Whoa there, bud. You want me to leave? Is this too gay for you?”

Marvin just stood up now, sliding off his baseball pants, not making eye contact with Whizzer. It was probably the best idea.

Whizzer was already biting his lip, his eyes moving over every inch of Marvin’s body that he could see. Everything about him seemed amazing, even if he wasn't quite flawless.

“Maybe you should keep those off.” Whizzer replied as he stood up as well, but now towering over Marvin with a grin.

“Huh?”

“Did I stutter?”

That was it. That was his invitation, at least Marvin thought. And he thought correctly.

When he was assured they were alone, Marvin took no time to pull Whizzer into a kiss, something he had never thought about doing in high school, or remotely at the beginning of the game. Yet it was happening now, and he wasn't complaining.

Whizzer leaned into the kiss, which quickly became heated (wasn't complaining), and held onto Marvin, and he felt hands grabbing at his own ass. It was rough, sweet, hot, but quick.

Before he knew it, pants were on the floor.

_____

Marvin had packed his bag at the end of their endeavor, and was yawning as he looked over at Whizzer. “That was… better than expected.”

“What, you think I'm gonna disappoint for you? Please.” Whizzer replied with a grin. “And you're sort of cute, anyways.”

Marvin felt his face get red, quickly. It was honestly sort of embarrassing, as him and Whizzer waked out of the locker room stadium with him. “Oh please, when I was on second base, you were saying how I wasn't worth the time.”

“Ah ah ah, live television, remember? I’m careful with my actions, unlike Mister ‘I left my mouth wide open when I was staring at the pitcher’s ass when I was in the batter’s box’, so don’t tease.” Whizzer replied.

“Whatever, fine.” Marvin chuckled with another dumb blush. “Do you have a phone number?”

“Ah, that’s what all of them say.” Whizzer joked.

“Cut the crap, do you have a number or not?” Marvin replied as he nudged Whizzer.

Exchanging phone numbers as Marvin headed towards his car, he couldn't keep his mind on the game, but more of his mind on Whizzer.

And he wasn't complaining about anything.

 


	4. The News Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yes, I did see Marvin Richards staring at my rear when we were playing last night, and yes I did make a sexual joke back, but nothing out of the ordinary. The microphones must have cut out or something when Marvin replied with a happy to oblige answer, because he seemed like he really wanted to see me in a... Per-say, more private setting, if you catch my drift." Whizzer had explained. Most of it was a lie, but Whizzer kept on building on it. 
> 
> "What did you do? Is he mad?" A reporter questioned. 
> 
> "We really didn't do anything. I offered him an ice pack for his foot, because I hit him. And that's really it. He doesn't seem to be mad, he just likes playing these mind games with me, I guess." Whizzer chuckled, shrugging his shoulders and looked into the camera, almost to try and find Marvin. And he did.

The next day was chaos, to say the least. 

Marvin, as soon as he was spotted getting his iced coffee, was bombarded by photos and questions. He almost had to do a double take to remember the words exchanged between him and Whizzer. 

"Mister Robinson! Is it true that you and Whizzer Brown played against each other in high school?" One asked. 

"Hearing what Whizzer said to you on the field, you seem annoyed. What do you think?" Another commented. 

"I heard you've been seeing Whizzer! Is this true?"

Most of the accusations were wrong, but Marvin just continued to walk through the crowd, and walked out of the crowd eventually. 

He didn't realize how much attention he was getting until he saw the news in Panera. (Yes, Marvin goes to Panera to get his daily bagel. Have a problem?)

There he was, on the television, his mouth wide open as he gaped like a teenage schoolboy at Whizzer on the baseball mound. 

Marvin was so screwed. 

And his parents were probably watching this whole thing play out on their television at home, shaking their heads in disbelief at how immature and dumb Marvin was, and that how they knew their daughter would never publicly humiliate herself like Marvin. 

As always, Marvin was an afterthought. 

He continued to watch, eyes glued to the screen as the reporter played the incident, hearing Whizzer say, in that condescending tone, "Jesus, if you like like me that much you can meet me in the locker room, Richards."

Marvin almost laughed, but he didn't. 

Because it was true. 

Marvin did meet Whizzer in the locker room not that long after, and shit happened. Shit that Marvin didn't think Whizzer wanted everyone to hear. 

Of course, he was sorely mistaken. 

_____

The fame wasn't overwhelming for Whizzer. It sort of made him happy, in a sense, to be recognized in a way different from the others. 

And hey, who didn't like a story on their ass? It was everything Whizzer could want, and then some. 

Whizzer had a different approach on the media, and he knew it was going to piss off Marvin to a maximum. 

"Yes, I did see Marvin Richards staring at my rear when we were playing last night, and yes I did make a sexual joke back, but nothing out of the ordinary. The microphones must have cut out or something when Marvin replied with a happy to oblige answer, because he seemed like he really wanted to see me in a... Per-say, more private setting, if you catch my drift." Whizzer had explained. Most of it was a lie, but Whizzer kept on building on it. 

"What did you do? Is he mad?" A reporter questioned. 

"We really didn't do anything. I offered him an ice pack for his foot, because I hit him. And that's really it. He doesn't seem to be mad, he just likes playing these mind games with me, I guess." Whizzer chuckled, shrugging his shoulders and looked into the camera, almost to try and find Marvin. And he did. 

_____

Marvin spit out a piece of his blueberry bagel with cream cheese, as he heard the interview between Whizzer and the reporter. Infuriated, he dialed Whizzer's number as fast as he could and held up the phone to his ear. 

No reply. 

Called again. 

No reply. 

After his third or fourth try, Marvin was satisfied with his number of nasty voicemails and insults as he put his phone down, still watching the news now. 

"Could Marvin Richards be the gay baseball icon of 2017?" Marvin knew he audibly groaned at this, and ran his hands through his hair. He dug his grave, and Whizzer was gracefully helping him into it.

 And Whizzer wasn't even answering his phone or the texts he sent. 

Now he remembered why he didn't fuck with Whizzer Brown. Now, and all those years ago. 

Although, he still looks amazingly good in baseball pants, and he can't be denied of that. 

Finally, he gets a call back. 

"Hello? Is this gay baseball icon Marvin Richards? I want to make sure I have the right-"

"Shut up, Whizzer. You don't have any place to be making jokes. And why in the living hell did you say all of that shit?" 

"Listen, Marv. Stop being such a needy closet case and live your life. Not somebody else's."

"So you get to come out of the closet like nothing but you drag me with you? Smart." Marvin replied, feeling the tension grow. 

"Oh my god. Marvin, listen to-"

"I'm listening, Whizzer. And all I hear is an asshole who just screwed my whole plan, hell, my whole career up! Can you fucking believe this? I'm sitting in Panera, just relaxing before another game tonight, and I see this on the news."

"Honestly? I could care less. I don't feel like talking to a selfish asshole right now. I'll see you on the diamond tonight." Whizzer replied, hanging up almost immediately after. 

But when he hung up, he still lingered on the calls page, looking at the phone call just exchanged between him and Marvin. It sort of made him wonder what he really felt, and what all of this shit meant. All that he knew was that he didn't care about Marvin that much. 

Wait. 

There was no way that was true. 

What kind of effect was this dumbass having on him, and why was he getting in his head?

_____

Whizzer hit Marvin again, and Marvin swore it was déjà vu. It was sort of crazy how it played out. 

A lot of yelling and screaming from the crowd wasn't helping either, and Whizzer had put on his best face for show. 

He took his good old time to talk to Marvin. 

"So, Marv. Sorry about hitting you, it wasn't intentional. Anyways, it wouldn't have bee any better if I aimed for your face, considering how ugly you are."

This one pulled so many laughs. Marvin was too close to coming over and slapping Whizzer. 

_____

The only good part of the game was that Marvin's team powered through and won after extra innings because of the tie. 

And Whizzer was bitter. 

_____

He returned with ice just like last night, with a little bit of an edge in his glances now. 

"Here's some ice." 

"Thanks."

The words lingered as Whizzer continued to stand there, over Marvin as he changed again. 

There was one problem, though. Everyone else was still in the locker room. They were casually finishing up, but secretly stealing glances to see what Marvin and Whizzer were up to. 

"So what's your problem? Lighten up, buttercup. More press, more money." Whizzer shrugged nonchalantly. 

"I'd rather be earning less than have my ass stuck in a pool of lies."

"Why not make them truths, then? Tell everyone that we fucked in the locker room."

The locker room's chatter died down instantly, and Marvin wasn't sure if they heard, or if it was a coincidence. 

He hoped for the latter. 

"Stop playing games, Whizzer."

"Oh please, this is how you get off at night." 

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Shut up!"

"I said fucking make me!"

Marvin did, in fact make Whizzer shut up. 

And it drew the attention of every living soul in the locker room. 

The chatter became whispers. Mouths were agape. Wide eyes spread across the whole locker room as Marvin and Whizzer did this, almost everyone in shock. 

Maybe all the rumors were actually true. 

 

Because if you looked in the center of the locker room, amongst the swarm of people, you could see Marvin kissing Whizzer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aahhh!! Hope you guys liked this one! It was really fun to write. Leave comments and kudos!


	5. Crying Over Spilt Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But he let something slip, while going to get wine glasses. "You look good when you're mad. Wear that shirt more often, please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this! Sorry, I've had mega writers block.

Whizzer had every right to break away from the kiss, parting to look Marvin in the eyes as everyone around them still was dead quiet, waiting to hear what one said to the other. 

What they heard from Whizzer was unexpected. 

"What the actual fuck, Marvin?" Was what he said, hissing at him as he stood across from him. "Tell me why you thought that was a good idea. In front of everyone."

And everyone still stood there, like they really wanted to know. 

"Whiz, I just thought-"

"Whatever you thought, hell, I don't even want to hear it right now. Whatever you thought was a good idea is most certainly not."

"Stop cutting me off and listen!" 

"I'm listening, but everything you say is either stupid, or insignificant to me. Make up your goddamn mind and stop being such a fucking flower all the time." Whizzer snapped, a sudden change in tone. He honestly didn't care what was being said around them, or if they were filming. Maybe then they'd see how much of a jerk Marvin was behind the baseball scenes. 

Because on the field, Marvin was the heartthrob guy. With his sideways smirk and the eyes. All the girls came to the baseball games to see Marvin Richards smile at them, not to see him play. And Whizzer seemed to be that man for his team. It had its advantages. 

But the advantages were slim, and it seemed that it kept him away from actually being more invested in his baseball career. 

And after Marvin had said this, he kept droning on about nonsense and why this was Whizzer's fault and not his. 

Whizzer made his statement on the news later. 

_____

"According to Marvin Richards, I was obliged to kiss him, but he forced me, mostly." Whizzer rolled his eyes, groaning into the microphone. "I can't believe he even said this. You know, I thought we were becoming friends. And then this?" 

Marvin was watching on the other end, just glaring at the screen. 

"Now, I'm not trying to make Marvin Richards seem like the bad guy, but I'm just saying. He has been acting like quite the jerk recently." Whizzer nodded, smiling as his segment finished. 

Marvin was set off the edge. 

____

Whizzer had made the mistake of giving Marvin his address that night in the locker rooms - when they did things, if you catch my drift. 

And now, in the pouring rain, stormed in Marvin, rapping angrily on the door. 

Whizzer knew it was him. And he could have cut it off right there, but he loved to play the games with Marvin. The best part?

Whizzer never lost. 

So he opened the door with a smile, raising an eyebrow and making a realization. 

Marvin, nor himself, had seem each other out of baseball uniforms. 

And when Whizzer thought about that, it was sort of sad. But now he didn't regret it. Marvin, although his pants were a little baggy and his jacket had a stain on it, looked good. He could still see the features he liked the most, his arms, his chest, and the ass. 

He knew Marvin felt the same way, because before Marvin began to confront Whizzer, he took a good look at the man in front of him. And it wasn't even short, it was a graceful glance over his whole body. 

"How many times do I have to say this? Eyes are up here, baby." Whizzer smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe, letting some water drip on Marvin. 

"Shut the hell up, Whizzer. You know what you did." Marvin didn't look really happy. Shit. Whizzer wondered if he had taken the game too far. 

"I know what I did, but do you know what you did? You made me kiss you in public, huh? So is that not even a big deal? But you get mad at me for telling the half-truth?" Whizzer snapped, chuckling. "You're funny, Marvin."

"I'm serious."

Oh. 

"Okay, Marvin. Calm yourself down and stop acting like some crazy bitch."

"Me, acting like a crazy bitch? Please, look in the mirror."

At this, Whizzer put on the most fake smile, as he let Marvin come in. "Come in, honey. Sit down and have some wine, no? Take off the ugly red jacket, as well. It's ruining my whole vibe here." 

"Vibe? Sorry, didn't know you were a fashion queen along wit a professional baseball player." 

"Don't act like these pants don't make my ass look good." Whizzer replied questioningly with a wink. 

"See? This is what I'm talking about." Marvin rolled his eyes. 

That's when Marvin took off the jacket and Whizzer got a look at his chest, which was able to be seen halfway through the shirt. It was Whizzer's turn to watch now, biting the inside of his lip in a nonchalant sort of way. 

But he let something slip, while going to get wine glasses. "You look good when you're mad. Wear that shirt more often, please."

The tension was still strong between them, knowing Marvin wasn't playing around, now just angry at him. But when he spoke, he sounded fine, and the whole attitude had changed suddenly. 

"I'll take note of it." Is all Marvin said, sitting down on Whizzer's couch as Whizzer came back into the room with the bottle and glasses, pouring Marvin a glass. 

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Whizzer grinned again, hoping his kindness was confusing Marvin enough to forget. 

It was, surprisingly. 

"I don't even know. How about we just drink some wine and have some small talk?" Marvin replied, taking his glass into his hand. 

Whizzer wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, or if Marvin actually winked at him. 

Fuck. 

_____

Whizzer and Marvin had been through, hell, almost a bottle and a half of wine when the sexual tension was getting bad. 

Marvin, when he thought Whizzer wasn't looking, would steal glances at his crotch, or just stare at him. And the atmosphere was just flirting. 

"So do you stare at every boy that hops on third base?" Whizzer had asked. 

In which Marvin had replied, "No, and at least I haven't given over half of my teammates blowjobs."

Whizzer frowned. "Stop being a bitch and don't act like you didn't like it!" 

"You got me on that one, Whiz. It was good." Marvin nodded now, biting his lip as he leaned against the back of couch. 

It was a little too much for Whizzer to handle, and now he was thinking too far into the future, where Marvin was doing things to him in this exact room, or maybe even in the kitchen. 

Marvin obviously noticed the excitement, because Marvin made sure to walk to the other couch, just standing over Whizzer, waiting for him to stand up. 

And when he did, they moved towards each other and their lips crashed together. They fumbled around quickly, knocking over one of the wine glasses, but continued to unbuckle belts and Marvin didn't take any time to take Whizzer's shirt off. 

_____

Marvin decided that maybe it wouldn't hurt that bad if he stayed one night at Whizzer's. 

Bad idea. 

He didn't mean to get attached, but this did exactly that. And now here he was, naked in the same bed with Whizzer Brown, laying under the same sheet, legs tangled with his. 

Sometimes he'd just touch Whizzer, wondering how this happened, and how he was actually not leaving yet. 

Mostly because when Whizzer looked at him, that smile killed him. 

It was only downhill from there, and Marvin had no idea. 


	6. Thing That Were Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So do you stare at every boy who hops on third base?” Whizzer had said that night, and here he was, at third base, saying this to Marvin as he cracked a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry in advance

Now, Marvin was much more prepared tonight, making sure to stretch and throw around with a few of the boys on the team, talking to them as they threw the ball.

 

“So Marv, is it true what they say? Are you and Whizzer gay for each other, or something like that?” One of them pressed.

 

Marvin caught the ball, rolling his eyes. “Jack, please. I am  _ not  _ like that.”

 

“Marvin, don’t act like he didn’t suck you off in the locker room. Andrew saw it by accident, so, checkmate.”

 

“Who saw me?  _ Andrew? _ ” Marvin raised an eyebrow, looking at Andrew and Jack in front of him.

 

Andrew just shrugged. “Accidentally. I promise.” He nodded.

 

“Fine, he sucked me off. But it wasn’t anything.”

 

Now, that was a lie.

 

_____

 

The game had begun with a shaky start. Marvin had made an error when a line drive was hit, and it cost them a run. He didn’t even know what was up with him, but he wasn’t doing so great. It wasn’t until Whizzer had hit a triple, and ended up standing next to him on third base.

 

_ “So do you stare at every boy who hops on third base?”  _ Whizzer had said that night, and here he was, at third base, saying this to Marvin as he cracked a smile.

 

“Shut the fuck up and play the game.”

 

“Play the game? Huh? I’m not the one who’s made four errors already.” Whizzer snickered.

 

“You’re funny.” Marvin rolled his eyes as he pushed Whizzer a little.

 

They didn’t talk for the rest of the time during that inning because Whizzer hadn’t made it back to third base, where Marvin stood by himself.

 

In a way, Marvin longed for Whizzer to come back to third base, and he knew it was bad. He longed for Whizzer to come back and make a smarmy insult, and make him crack a grin.

 

_____

 

When Marvin was on second base, as usual, Whizzer turned around to smile at him.

 

“Marvin, Marvin, Marvin. What ever will I do about your staring? You’re not some horny fifth grader, so lay off.”

 

Whenever Whizzer talked to him like that, it made him explode. But he couldn’t help to snap back. “Oh, please. If you didn’t like what  _ you  _ saw, you wouldn’t be talking to me every time on second base, and you wouldn’t talk to me when you get on third base, huh?”

 

That’s when he heard the fan in the stands, and it set him on edge for the rest of the night.

 

“ _ Hey, why don’t you fags get to kissing after the game? _ ” He heard them yell, as Marvin gulped down his anger and bit his lip.

 

“Okay, Marv. You heard the man.” Whizzer joked again, somehow more serious as they parted, Marvin still standing on the base. 

 

He felt so helpless and confused in that moment there. What was he supposed to do about some angry, homophobic man in the stands who obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass about anything that Marvin had to say.

 

Marvin now just stood on second base, biting his lip as he felt all eyes on him, the chatter now drowning out his ears as he felt uneasy.

 

_____

 

On third base again, Marvin messed with his glove. Balls weren’t coming his way at all, and he had time to think now. Was that all he was to people? Just some  _ fag _ to all the baseball fans who filled the stands, ate the food and cheered to him when he caught fly balls and made double plays. 

 

Was that all he was? Was that why his pay hiked up tonight because it drew such a crowd to see an “openly gay” baseball player flirt with his auspicious said ‘boyfriend’ flirt on the baseball diamond. He couldn’t deal with that, and he still felt sick, ever since he’d been yelled at.

 

He made sure to wipe the sweat from his brow, adjusting his baseball cap on his head as he bit his lip. The sweat he had suddenly broken out into wasn’t even hot, it was a cold sweat.

 

It made him quickly nervous, feeling himself get more and more queasy as he huffed - breathing in quickly. 

 

He was watching Whizzer up to bat now, breathing heavily as he watched him swing, hit it to third base, and Marvin just watched the ball go by him as the crowd “booed” him as the noises around him started to fade away, everything becoming cluttered as he continued to sweat crazily, breathing heavily.

 

He didn’t mean to, and he didn’t even know why he did it for the most part, or if he was even responsible for doing it or if his body just shut down, but he felt his knees lock as he fainted and fell to the ground.

 

The whole world went black.

 

The surprising thing, Whizzer went over instead of being on the base and kneeled down to look at Marvin, trying to get him to wake back up, and that’s when the EMT came over and Whizzer had to be forcibly pulled away so Marvin could be taken care of.

 

But Whizzer wasn’t even sure if he would be taken care of if he wasn’t there to help, and that’s what worried him the most.

  
  



	7. A Hospital Room and a Rain Jacket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He usually knew how to get out of situations, but this was one he was stuck with learning the consequences. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why do I hate myself for writing this? enjoy this awful chapter. B) I finally wrote something from Whizzer's prespective for the mist part woop woop
> 
> PS comment and leave kudos I need to know what you guys think!

“Marvin? Marvin. Talk to me. Hey, Marv.” Whizzer replied, biting his lip as he leaned over Marvin on the bed, just watching him.

Whizzer watched Marvin slowly finally open his eyes, as he felt his breathing finally still to a calm and feeling himself calm down and ease a smile on his face. “Hey, Marvin.” He breathed out as he looked at Marvin, who looked pretty awful.

“Whizzer. What are you doing here?”

At this, Whizzer frowned. Even his voice sounded so weak. Marvin had bags under his eyes, which he hadn’t noticed before, but he knew were there. They were worse than ever because of the fainting, and he had been throwing up a couple times in the hospital.

“I’m here to see you. I came on the ambulance with you.” Whizzer nodded, trying to make the tension in the room between the two men a little lighter.

“Oh that’s sweet. What other cute relationship things do you want to do?” Marvin snickered weakly, moving his hand out for Whizzer to take.

Whizzer obliged, feeling his cheeks heat up a little as he looked at Marvin, sitting on the bed. “Look, Marv. I want to talk about what happened, and talk about why it happened.”

Marvin visibly shifted his seat, breathing in deep as he sat up, still squeezing his hand. “The one guy who said that… thing. When we were talking when I was on second base. I started to feel so queasy and awkward, and then when I was on third when you were batting. I just watched the ball go by. I just felt so helpless, and beaten down.”

Whizzer just looked at him, as Marvin went to lace his hands in Whizzer’s hair, and Whizzer couldn’t help but grin. He loved when Marvin did that, and he loved when he would just admire him. That’s what Whizzer needed right now, to be admired. “Marvin, you know I am always here. You could’ve told your coaches or something that you felt sick. Why didn’t you tell me, or anyone?”

Marvin bit his lip, now saying what he felt. "Maybe I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid it'd happen again. And if I told my coach? Oh god. He'd take me out of the game, and that's a chip out of my paycheck. I'm not going to be a baby just because I felt a little queasy."

Whizzer swore he was this close to losing it, biting his lip to hold back his comments, but only said, "A little queasy? You passed out on third base and have been puking your guts out since this morning."

He knew it was the wrong thing to say, when Marvin raised an eyebrow at Whizzer with a huff. "Give me a little sympathy, okay?" 

Marvin squeezed Whizzer's hand again, just looking up at the boy, no, man sitting on his bed. Whizzer must admit, Marvin did have beautiful eyes. 

His voice almost mixed with the storm that had been happening since yesterday night. It was all calm for a second, Whizzer just staring dreamily at Marvin for a little too long, and that's when it fell apart a little too quick. 

A woman with a long rain jacket and a worried expression on her face quickly stormed into the room, looking calm and collected, and then when her eyes met Whizzer's they almost hardened as she glared at him. 

"Marvin."

"Trina." Marvin replied, quickly letting go of Whizzer's hand as Whizzer stood up. 

"Sorry I wasn't here faster, I didn't really have the time to board the ambulance with your... friend." The angry woman, named Trina said as she glanced at Whizzer. 

Whizzer just returned the stare, the feeling of 'who the fuck is this?' mutual between him and the woman in front of him. 

"You must be Whizzer." Trina said now as he turned to look at him, her lips curling into a grin as she extended her hand. "I'm Trina, as you heard." 

"Yes, Whizzer Brown." Whizzer took her hand with a smile almost as fake as hers, noticing her grip was almost deadly tight. And this is when Whizzer noticed all the little things he hadn't noticed before. The way Trina looked nervously out of the side of her eyes, the way she fiddled with the end of her coat and all of the little idiosyncrasies that nobody else probably noticed. She looked so antsy and uncomfortable, but somehow standing tall and standing her ground in a confident manner. 

"I've seen you on the news quite a bit recently, along with Marv here. Quite interesting to watch with Jason at home. Little baby hardly knows what's going on, but I bet he'd be just as confused as I am on all this drama." Trina laughed, just as fake as all of the other times. "Whizzer Brown, huh? What an odd name."

"I get that a lot." Was all Whizzer could say. It was his turn now to laugh, and just bite his lip sure after, a habit he couldn't break even if he tried.

And then arose the question. "So, what's your relation to Marvin? Friend from high school? Cousin? Oh, are you his sister?" Whizzer nodded, as he looked at Trina's gaze harden again, just as she had done at the beginning of their encounter. 

"Why, I thought Marvin would have told you by now."

Whizzer took this time to look at Marvin, who honestly looked the most scared he had ever looked in the time they had become acquainted. 

Trina continued on, "Marvin is my husband." 

And that's when Whizzer realized why Marvin was so hesitant, why he was always in a rush, and why he was always trying to hide from the press. And Whizzer started to honestly feel like he was going to need a hospital bed himself, after what Trina had just said to him. 

He was in deep shit. 

He usually knew how to get out of situations, but this was one he was stuck with learning the consequences. 

As far as he knew, Trina wouldn't show him any mercy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> make sure to follow me on tumblr - thebookofmckinley !!!!


	8. It's All Your Fault, Whizzer Brown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fuck you, Marvin Richards. I can't believe I even tried. I can't believe I fell into your dumb trap! So I'll leave now, like the pretty boy I am, right? That's all I am to you? Something to help you get off? Because your wife wasn't enough?" Whizzer spat the last part, glaring at him and Trina equally. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> take a deep breath.

Whizzer wasn't sure if this is what being nauseous felt like, since he had convinced himself he was incapable of getting sick or throwing up. The whole room felt like it was spinning, and his face felt like all the color had been drained from it. 

He couldn't handle what he had just heard, as he looked over at Marvin, to see him just sitting there, almost unaffected by the conversation happening between the two. 

That's when, after a few minutes of gibberish and trying to say real words, Whizzer is finally able to figure half a sentence together. 

"His wife?" Was now all he could choke out, gulping down what felt like rocks in his throat as he looked at Trina, still hoping this was a prank of some sort that Marvin was pulling on him. Then came the word vomit. 

"This can't be- Marvin brought me to his house-" This was a damn mistake. "and you weren't there. I didn't see any kid running around, uh, Trina, but I'm just saying, are you joking? Please tell me you're actually joking." 

Trina raised an eyebrow as she chuckled, having placed Whizzer right where she wanted, and felt a sort of dominance over him right now. 

"Oh yes, I am most definitely Marvin's wife. As far as I know, this is real," Trina spat as she held up her hand to show the wedding ring. "I've known about his sleeping around, yes. Business trips aren't that frequent with his job, you know that well enough, and I usually travel to 'important games', so I figured it out soon enough."

Whizzer just let his mouth hang open, watching her explain with such ease. 

"And yes, I have been faithful, loyal, and nothing but kind to Marvin, and here we are, with a one year old stuck to us, and he doesn't even have the decency to invite his new friend over for dinner. 

You're probably wondering why I wasn't at home, like you said, since you and Marvin probably had sex all over that couch, you know my house." 

Whizzer's stomach felt awful. 

"I wasn't at home because I was visiting our family. Usually, I would be there, but my mother is very ill and I've been taking care of her. That explains my absence." 

He didn't want to do this, not right now. He didn't even know what to say to Trina, it wasn't her fault. And it particularly wasn't Whizzer's fault either, he had no damn idea that Marvin was actually a crazy closet case with a wife and a child. That would have been nice information to have at the beginning of their encounters, instead of kissing him and touching his ass on live television, or all the snarky comments about sex on the field. Now he just felt like a complete asshole, and he knew, deep down, that Trina felt the same way. As tough as she looked, he could tell the look wasn't genuine. 

Maybe this was all just part of the game that Marvin confined to play with Whizzer. He knew Marvin despised him ever since the high school incident, and he had every right to. Whizzer was a cocky little shit who was pretty damn good, had a cute face, and wore tight baseball pants that distracted the weird closeted kids like Marvin.

Even though he agreed he was still quite like that, he told himself that he was less obnoxious, and a lot more sexy, and not as cute. 

Whizzer wondered if this was all in the scenario where he had kissed him on television, and both of their interviews showed signs of tension, and also love. 

Then here stormed in Trina, to mess up Whizzer's perfect little cliche of a rom-com.

"Trina, stop being so harsh. I do agree, though." Marvin replied, the first thing he had said ever since Trina had walked into the room and introduced herself. "Whizzer is sort of the problem, here."

Whizzer was about to go crazy, as Trina nodded and teamed up with Marvin on this issue. 

"I'm the issue?" Was what Whizzer now decided to say, gasping fairly as he laughed. 

"Yes, you are. Maybe you should leave, Whizzer Brown. Marvin even said so." Trina smiled back. 

All of her words were like a knife to his stomach, and her smile was the knife twisting inside him. 

"I'm not the one who forced a kiss in the locker room! All I did was bring Marvin some ice, and flirt with him a little on the field, and he didn't say anything about a wife, okay? He didn't say anything to me about anyone, at all." Whizzer snapped, his voice growing angry. "So you expect me to leave? I sure as hell will leave, Marvin. I can't believe I ever even tried with you. I should have known there was something up, you two faced son of a bitch! How could you do this to me when I had no knowledge of the family you had? Or of the secret life you were living? Huh?"

They both stared at him, blank faced, as the thunder continued to roll outside, the rain hitting ferociously against the hospital window. 

"Fuck you, Marvin Richards. I can't believe I even tried. I can't believe I fell into your dumb trap! So I'll leave now, like the pretty boy I am, right? That's all I am to you? Something to help you get off? Because your wife wasn't enough?" Whizzer spat the last part, glaring at him and Trina equally. 

"Whizzer!" Marvin snapped back, returning the angry glance. 

"What, are you just mad that you're not in control of me for once? Well, get used to it, because we're done, Marvin. Hope it was damn worth lying to my fucking face!" Whizzer now yelled, storming out of the hospital room, slamming the door behind him. 

He now walked out to his car, which had been transported to the hospital for him, in the pouring rain, and hoped that the rain surrounding him would hide the tears he was crying now, as he got soaked on the way to his car, wondering where to go now. 

Where was he supposed to go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it! sorry Whizzer is really emotional right now. just how I'm feeling it right now. I mean, if the guy who you've been fucking and slowly falling in love with suddenly actually has a wife and you're the weird side piece thing, wouldn't you cry? 
> 
> kudos and comments appreciated!
> 
> message me on the Tumblr(tm) about the story, or to be friends! @thebookofmckinley


	9. California

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin wanted Whizzer under his thumb, obeying his every command and making sure that he did everything and anything Marvin wanted.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS. I really like this chapter. also I watched children of the corn again today and what the hell.

The next two games between Marvin and Whizzer's team in the series had been cancelled due to the crazy amounts of rain that flooded the stadium the day when Whizzer had found out about Trina. He found it all to be so surprising, and now here he was, boarding the plane to fly across the country, to California, to play against a different team.

The plane ride brought too many thoughts to his head as he watched the irregular clouds float effortlessly beside him. 

He mostly thought about the three games he was about to play in California. He hoped the series between the team was good, so that he could just leave Marvin like nothing ever happened, and drop him like they never even spoke. 

And he could start pretending like he didn't love him. 

Whizzer thought about how different the games would be now, without Marvin standing on third base, the baseball pants complimenting his ass. Without someone to blatantly hit when he was throwing pitches. 

When he ran to third base, he wouldn't have the luxury of sliding into Marvin. He wouldn't have the luxury to talk to him, if that was even a luxury. 

He wouldn't talk to him at all this weekend, because Marvin frankly didn't care about what Whizzer was doing, because he was too busy explaining to his wife about how Whizzer was the real villain in all of this, and how he was the victim. 

She refused to listen to any of it, but still agreed that Whizzer was in the wrong here. Not her husband, of course. 

The plane ride left him with too many thoughts. Would there be any men there that he could look at like that? Would Marvin watch the games, just waiting for Whizzer to do something?

What if Whizzer continued to play these dumb games with Marvin? 

What if Whizzer flirted with other boys? How would Marvin feel then? 

The whole string of thoughts running through his brain made him angry. How was he supposed to deal with Marvin when he arrived back to Boston? 

Although he did have a house in New York because his team played there often, he resided in a cramped apartment in Boston mostly. 

But more importantly than his house, Marvin. 

Whizzer was the one who had mostly stopped the game to see Marvin. He was the one who rode to the hospital and slept by his hospital bed and cared. He was the one who held his hand and kissed his cheek and said;

"I'm so glad you're okay, Marv."

Whizzer wished Marvin was damn near dead now. 

Fuck him, he had bigger fish to fry. 

_____

Whizzer had dressed his best for the game tonight, the usual baseball pants, extra tight for distractions, and he didn't look half bad from the waist up. A genuine smile, and eyes that could kill was the best combination for this situation. 

He could honestly pick any of the boys here, but he knew he had to pick just one, and he made sure to pick the one who would make Marvin go crazy. 

The third baseman. 

_____

The game started out as all the others, yet this team wasn't as good as Marvin's and it sort of bored him. He needed some excitement, so whenever he stepped onto third base, he called a timeout from the umpire. 

This was his first move. 

Whizzer, right in front of the third baseman, bent over to 'tie his shoe', making sure to stick his rear right in his face. 

And he could just feel Marvin yelling all the way from New York City. 

It was going to be great when he got back. 

Now, as the timeout was called as finished and the game resumed, Whizzer stood back up and grinned at the third baseman. 

"What? My face is up here, honey. But no shame in looking at another guy's ass every once and a while, you know?" Whizzer nudged him a little with a wink. 

The third baseman just turned red quickly, and this continued throughout the night. 

_____

It was all bad. 

Whizzer knew this would happen. 

It was almost deja-vu as if he was with Marvin. It was sex in the locker room, and he almost felt emotionless. The sex felt so forced and awkward, but it was enough to orgasm and move on. 

It was enough to catch Marvin's attention, and to catch the news reporters' attention. 

Headlines about him were all over the next day, and he received an angry voicemail from... guess who?

"Whizzer- is this recording yet? Fuck, oh it is! Uh- Whizzer. Look, I'm so sorry. Okay? I was really messed up a couple days back and I should have said something to you and Trina. I don't know why I didn't tell you about her, I guess it never really fit into conversation."

Well, when would it? What a bitch. 

"Anyways, I'm calling to apologize. I'm sorry for doing this to you,"

This all sounded so fake, like Trina had put him up to it. She probably had, that bitch. 

"I'm just saying, when you come home, talk to me. You know where to find me, obviously."

He swore he heard Marvin snicker a little, almost acting like Whizzer was his little fuck-toy or something. It disgusted Whizzer when he listened. 

Yet he continued to listen. 

"Just talk to me soon. Give me a call when you get a chance in between games."

A slight shift in moods, changing the subject, he supposed. 

"How's California? I haven't been there yet. Send me a postcard or something, while you're at it."

That's the last damn thing Whizzer wanted to do at this moment. 

"And also? My main reason for calling you,"

Wait, so the main reason wasn't the apology? Smooth, Marvin. 

"Stop messing with other boys on the field. It's making me look bad and it's not fair. You totally did that on purpose and I know you did. So fucking stop acting like a bitch and have some decency."

There wasn't even a 'goodbye' or a 'call me' at the end, just ending on "have some decency". Sure, Whizzer could be a bitch and he liked messing with Marvin, but Marvin always liked to take it to the next level and hurt Whizzer for real. It stung really bad. 

He knew exactly what Marvin was doing now, and he knew what cards to play. 

Marvin wanted Whizzer under his thumb, obeying his every command and making sure that he did everything and anything Marvin wanted.  

Marvin wanted to manipulate everyone in his life, explaining Trina and his baby. 

And Trina even knew Marvin was gay, since she seemed so 'unaffected' by the fact that Marvin was fucking Whizzer Brown, a boy two years younger who was playing on a different major league baseball team. 

And the fact that their encounters were mostly right after games. 

And he still knew that Marvin hated him, obviously. 

Marvin had hated him since day one of high school baseball, with the tight shorts and the bitchy attitude.

But when would it be Whizzer's turn to hate Marvin? When was he 'given the right' to be able to hate someone?

Because, as it stood right now, Marvin could say whatever he wanted to Whizzer, even break him if he wanted to, and get away with it. But if Whizzer even said a single negative thing, he would be banned from Marvin's sight, and Marvin would spit lies on the news about him. 

Whizzer knew the time for change between them was near, and he was damn sure winning this one. 

So he did what he went against now, and called Marvin. 

He obviously picked up immediately, that asshole. 

He didn't hear Marvin say anything, or protest against his call. 

So he took a deep breath, put on his best cocky smile that he'd wear if Whizzer was actually here, and spoke, finally. 

"Hey, Marvin. How's the wife?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope ya guys like angry petty Whizzer! comments and kudos make my self esteem explode. 
> 
> (tumblr: @thebookofmckinley)


	10. When Mendel Defends Marvin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How do you think Trina feels? To be able to see this on television? And Marvin, poor Marvin, all he asks is a little sympathy. This isn't his fault here, people!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (alternately titled: when Marvin takes the stand)
> 
> Anyways! Yes! Mendel is in this chapter now. :)
> 
> To be honest, I love writing this and the feedback keeps me going, but this chapter was sort of annoying to write. I don't know why, I'm just not really happy with it. Tell me what you guys think.

Whizzer Brown had gotten very bored of California all too quickly. 

They did tourist-y things as a team. Went to Hollywood, acted like total assholes, and got crazy drunk one night, and he was just glad to be with these men, who respected Whizzer and who he was, and treated him like any other player on the team. 

And the connection between him and the googly-eyed third baseman still lingered, as he met him again in a bar and the man brought him a drink, and then they had proceeded to the bathroom, where a night of mediocre sex and weird sexual phrases happened. 

At least he could check that off his bucket list, no matter how weird of a face that guy made when he came. 

Hey, everyone has their own thing. 

Whizzer had been doing damn good in the games, throwing a no-hitter one game, and pretty much making baseball history. 

And at so young? He was assured by his coaches that he was 'going places'. He just hoped those places were good. 

Hopefully they were. 

Sure, the games were fun, but it wasn't the same without the asshole who made all the other boys he'd had sex with look like nothing. 

The asshole who was probably trying to 'fuck the gay away' with Trina in their little fancy apartment in New York. 

The asshole who always made sure to take a longing glance at Whizzer's body just before doing anything, even when they fought. 

It made him shudder a little bit, and that's when he realized how committed he was, and he suddenly wanted to make it all stop. 

And to think, this was the one  asshole who was probably sitting by his phone, desperately waiting for Whizzer to call him back. 

So when he did, it was no damn surprise that Marvin was shocked, even if it was just a little. 

When Whizzer now waited for the man to reply, he just smirked to himself about his 'wife' comment, biting his lip like he did. 

He heard Marvin grunt, frustrated on the other line. 

"What's wrong, hun? Trina not doing it for you?" Whizzer cackled at his own words. 

"Yes, actually." 

Well shit, he wasn't expecting that answer. 

"Uh, what?" Was what Whizzer could manage. 

"Yes, you heard me. Now get your ass back to New York soon so I can see you in a private setting, hm?" Marvin's tone had changed quickly, and Whizzer's face just crinkled in disgust as he huffed. 

"I should have known better than to even cross paths with you. Maybe you won't understand these words because you're usually the one who says them, but we're finished, Marvin. Okay?" Whizzer took a second to take a breath. "If you think I'm going to go behind your wife's back and cheat for you, just so you can get off, I'm not."

"Whizzer, this isn't just about the sex-"

"Here, try this on for size," Whizzer replied with a plastered grin. "Don't tell me what this is and isn't about. Because obviously, I can't fucking trust you, and I don't need some creepy, manipulative jerk in my life." 

With this, Whizzer angrily ended the call and continued to pour himself a glass of wine. 

_____

Their last game in California was today, and Whizzer was eager to fly back home, and get back to a normal time zone.

While Whizzer was doing his morning routine, he stopped at a Starbucks that was pretty close to the team hotel, and he was pretty grateful for it. 

Whizzer's eyes soon were caught by the news on the television, seeing a very familiar face on the screen, along with a not-so-familiar one. 

"BREAKING NEWS! This just in, Marvin Richards is not a homosexual, and one of his teammates is here to back him up on why." 

Whizzer rolled his eyes so hard, he almost swore his eyes unattached from their sockets. Watching from his seat in the Starbucks, he groaned. 

"I am standing here with Tigers player Marvin Richards, and teammate, now this one's a mouthful, Mendel Weisenbachfeld, to discuss the matter: 'Is Marvin Richards gay?' Marvin and Mendel are both disagreeing with this, and I'd like them to explain to us why."

Mendel, an awkward, scrawny looking excuse for a man took the microphone into his hands with a smile. "My name is Mendel, and yes, Marvin Richards is straight. All of this stuff flying around is clearly Whizzer Brown's fault, not my good friend here, Marvin's fault." 

Marvin, that sly asshole, nodded at this. 

Whizzer wanted to turn off the television, but continued to keep his eyes glued to it. 

"Now, I'm not calling Whizzer Brown, from the Falcons, a cheater or a creep, but Marvin is happily, uh," Mendel chuckled a little, his mind seeming to stray from the thought at hand. "Happily married to Trina Richards, and they have a baby son. 

Now, I don't think this Whizzer Brown character is real smart, blowing kisses to Marvin during games, winking, making snippy little comments, and hell, the kiss in the locker room?"

Mendel shook his head, in fake disgust. The man, with his curly brown hair, seemed in complete disbelief that Marvin preferred what was in his pants, and not under her shirt. 

"How do you think Trina feels? To be able to see this on television? And Marvin, poor Marvin, all he asks is a little sympathy. This isn't his fault here, people!"

Mendel continued to go on but the microphone was forcibly taken away by the reporter as she smiled again. 

It all seemed fake. Her smile, the words she spoke, the words Mendel spoke, and all of Marvin's facial expressions. 

His were mostly not shown on camera, and he hadn't said a lot to begin with. 

"Anyways, Marvin Richards, do you have any comments?"

"Yes, actually."

The reporter smiled with a nod, handing Marvin the microphone. 

Whizzer swore Marvin was staring at him through the camera. 

"I need to make a correction to Mendel's wonderful speech: I kissed Whizzer Brown. And I liked it, too." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I keep leaving it at cliffhangers. I promise I'll get better at it.


	11. Can't Stand Losing You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His stomach was churning with the anxiety of the fact that Marvin was waiting for him in New York, probably in his armchair in his living room, legs crossed and reading the paper, his reading glasses hanging off of his nose effortlessly. Just waiting for Whizzer to show up so he can scold or praise him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter title is a 10/10 recommended song by the police  
> i wrote this chapter three times and this is the one I liked the most

Whizzer dropped his coffee all over the floor, his mouth hanging open, almost as Marvin had done a couple weeks prior as seeing Whizzer on the news. 

It seemed the tables has turned, and Whizzer didn't like it one bit. He cursed himself silently as he started to wipe up his spilt coffee, thinking it was a blessing that he was almost finished with it anyways. 

Whizzer now stands up, sliding his phone in his back pocket, and putting on his jacket as he sighs. Could this honestly be happening? He didn't care to watch the rest of the interview now, as he stormed out of the coffee shop, letting the door close behind him. 

He was pretty furious, even if Marvin had said what he wanted him to say, he was still angry at Trina, angry at whoever this Mendel Weisen-whatever guy was, and just all around angry at Marvin. How was he supposed to be happy when Marvin was the puppeteer behind all of these people?

_____

The game was surprising, and Whizzer had been thrown off his game, his head cluttered with thoughts of Marvin, Trina, and Mendel on the television. He couldn't think well enough to throw strikes, or any good pitches for that matter, and it caused them to lose the game. 

The man on third base spoken up more now, and even when Whizzer got on third base, the third baseman, named Tyler, made sure to hit him on the ass, and Whizzer didn't just stand there, something just cracking inside of him. 

Whizzer suddenly turned around and glared at him. 

"What do you think I am, some whore for you to exploit?" He snapped quickly, an umpire quickly running over to referee this 'fight', but Tyler just stood there in awe. 

"It was just a touch. And anyways, last night that's not what you said."

"Because last night I was talking on the phone to Marvin Richards, not some awkward college dropout with bad taste in food." Whizzer snapped back, shoving him off of the base as the umpire walked up to Whizzer, giving him a warning. 

Whizzer was flippant to the warning now, just standing on third base and grumbling to himself, already wondering what the headline would be on the newspaper at home tomorrow. 

____

The game ended in an ugly ending, Whizzer's team, the Falcons lost 13-5. 

And yet, the next morning he moved on and hopped onto the plane to head back to New York City. 

Head back to see Marvin. As much as he'd like to not admit it, he was going to see Marvin. To see Marvin's anger, or to see Marvin be 'proud' that he told off that one guy. 

Either way, Marvin would try and manipulate Whizzer to sleep with him again, and either way, Whizzer would oblige. And that's just how it seemed to go these days. 

_____

Whizzer got sick on the plane ride home. 

He knew exactly how it happened, too. 

While listening to a book on tape, he wasn't sure if it was Of Mice and Men or Wicked, Whizzer started feeling pretty awkward and sick. 

Luckily, Whizzer was pretty smart and was able to inform someone and headed to the restroom, trying to assure himself that he'd be fine, and that it was just some weird food he'd eaten this morning for breakfast. Maybe just something raw, but he knew that's no reason for why he felt the way he did. 

His stomach was churning with the anxiety of the fact that Marvin was waiting for him in New York, probably in his armchair in his living room, legs crossed and reading the paper, his reading glasses hanging off of his nose effortlessly. Just waiting for Whizzer to show up so he can scold or praise him. 

Whizzer had hoped for the latter, but he was afraid it'd be the first. But he still had hope maybe Marvin would think about someone other than himself. 

In his dreams, maybe. Or his wildest fantasies. 

_____

Marvin was waiting at the airport for Whizzer, and it made Whizzer a little uneasy as he got his luggage and saw Marvin, and was so tempted to just walk right past him and pretend like he didn't make the sweatpants he was wearing look amazing. 

But that was a damn lie, he didn't think there was a possible way he could have actually done that. 

So here he was, rolling his blue suitcase behind him, almost speed walking up to Marvin now, and let his body do the thinking for him. 

And before he could stop himself, he kissed Marvin, for longer than expected. 

The kiss felt explosive, something Whizzer didn't realize he had craved until he fell into Marvin's embrace again. Until he felt Marvin's lips on his, and when Marvin's fingers were curled into Whizzer's hair, messing it up from its styled position. 

Whizzer didn't care. 

Now, when Marvin and Whizzer parted, before Marvin could even speak, Whizzer's gaze hardened, the tone changing now as he took the moment to slap Marvin across the face. 

He knew it seemed out of context and odd, but he loved the feeling of domination over Marvin for a split second. He loved watching him frown and hold the side of his face, his whole face was red. 

"I liked one of the two things, if you guess correctly I'll do it again." Marvin replied as he chuckled. 

Whizzer sighed at this. Why was everything he did a joke? Whizzer just wanted to be serious for once, so why did Marvin get free passes to do whatever the hell he wanted, and Whizzer would, metaphorically, die if he misspelled a word on a note. 

But yet he allowed himself to let go again, pulling the shorter man in for another kiss, more heated this time, still in the middle of the airport pickup. 

He felt things start to get hasty when Marvin moved his hand to run it across the slope of Whizzer's behind, and he felt his own face grow red. 

He didn't realize how desperate he was for something like this until now, and it was pretty sad that the man he was furious at three days ago, was now making out with him in the airport. 

Because nobody knew them in the airport, and they could be whoever they damn pleased. 

And Whizzer was ready for a change in his life. He just hoped Marvin would be too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well? Will they ever be normal again? Will Marvin and Trina divorce??????????
> 
> please comment and leave kudos!! thank you ALL for your love and support with this story!


	12. Slam on the Brakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whizzer knew Marvin always took it one step too far, and this was that time. He didn't see any apology in Marvin's eyes, as Marvin just watched him, watched him rub his head and curse under his breath because it hurt to touch that spot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took 35 minutes to write and it's only 970-ish words. I usually strive for 1,000-1,300 words but I'm so tired. 
> 
> hope you guys like it!
> 
> ALSO SLIGHT TW FOR VIOLENCE  
> Marvin hurts Whizzer purposely :0

Marvin took Whizzer home, but the drive from the airport felt agonizing, and the words exchanged weren't the best. 

The first fifteen minutes of the departure from the airport were the awkward ones. Marvin would occasionally wipe a stay piece of hair from his face, and then grunt or do something weird. Sometimes he tried to spark conversation, but it never happened. 

Whizzer felt pleased enough, feeling Marvin's gaze on him, looking him over. 

Yet he was still quite pissed. He was still liking Marvin a little, but Marvin was acting like such an asshole. 

Whizzer just stayed on his phone most of the time, scrolling through Instagram, and just taking sips of the coffee he had picked up before leaving the airport. 

Whizzer wanted to get a little rise out of Marvin, so he made sure to spark the conversation quickly. 

"So what, are you the kind of guy who is so dedicated to the man who you've been fucking behind your wife's back that you're the one picking him up? I thought you were too busy blowing Mendel in the bathroom, honey." Whizzer snapped, obviously unfair about being picked up by Marvin, as he crossed his arms. 

Marvin just frowned, grip tightening on the steering wheel as they hit traffic. "I thought maybe you'd be a little thankful."

Whizzer scoffed, laughing at Marvin mockingly. "Thankful? For what? Making me look like a total whore on public television? This isn't Keeping Up With Whizzer Brown! I want to be low-key about things, but here you are, talking about me on every single news network in New York." 

Marvin raised an eyebrow, huffing. "Just shut up, Whizzer."

"No! I won't 'just shut up', buddy. I'm not some toy you get to throw around, and I'm sure as hell not your wife, okay? You've already got one, you don't need another." Whizzer glared ahead, not looking at him, being serious this time. 

He didn't want to touch Marvin. He didn't even want to look at him. 

But when he did look at Marvin, he noticed his hair looked in disarray from it's normal sort of kept position, the dark circles under his eyes had become more noticeable, and he fidgeted much more. He noticed the tics almost immediately on inspecting him, and the nervous laughter coupled with the angry comments were killing Whizzer. 

"I don't get why you always act so dramatic. You act like you're the victim! You're the one who started flirting."

"Me? Sorry, I didn't remember that you had a wife," Whizzer hummed, biting his lip. "Oh wait! You forgot to mention that, I guess." Whizzer hoped that his insults were sort of working, but got just even more angry when Marvin pulled the victim card. 

"See? This is what I'm talking about, you're such a dramatic asshole. Okay?"

Whizzer knew what he had to do, even if it was a little over the top. "Okay."

Marvin just continued to drive, as they pulled to another heavy traffic jam in another busy street in New York City. 

"You know what Marvin?" Whizzer looked over at him, grinning as if nothing was wrong. 

"What, Whizzer?" Marvin smiled back, and Whizzer took this time to remember that they were only about four blocks from his apartment, so he sighed and made his approach. 

"Stop the damn car or I'll stop it myself." Whizzer was still smiling as he unbuckled already, but Marvin already had his next move planned. 

He slammed on the brakes, watching Whizzer jolt forward as he laughed, but Whizzer just glared at him, almost holding bad tears at this point. 

Whizzer knew Marvin always took it one step too far, and this was that time. He didn't see any apology in Marvin's eyes, as Marvin just watched him, watched him rub his head and curse under his breath because it hurt to touch that spot. 

He wanted to lean across the car and do unspeakable things to Marvin. Not nice things, for that matter. First he wanted to punch him so hard his nose would bleed, and then strangle him and just watch him suffer. 

But yet he just sat there, in the car, letting Marvin laugh at him while his eyes continued to get watery, and he unlocked the door quickly and went in the back to get his suitcase. 

Now he realized suddenly how Trina must feel, so helpless and just watching from a distance, letting Marvin manipulate her. And sure, he tried to rebel against Marvin at all times, but he never won. 

Because Marvin had the game set up so he would always win. And Whizzer knew that, for sure. 

He felt Marvin's eyes on him the whole time, waiting for him to crack, or to say something, anything. 

And Whizzer just continued, his head stinging from the contact he had made with the dashboard of Marvin's truck. 

He wished Marvin would have been in that position. He couldn't even believe this was happening right now. 

He was already walking away when Marvin called him back, and Whizzer came back with an angered glare still plastered on his face. 

"What the hell do you want?" Whizzer crossed his arms in return, raising an eyebrow. 

"The papers." Was all Marvin said. 

"What papers?"

Whizzer saw the nervous tics come into place again, Marvin bit his lip, laughed a little as he shook his head, and just looked up at Whizzer, with a grin. 

Whizzer knew he should fall into the game again, but he stayed neatly on the outside as he just watched Marvin almost have a breakdown in front of him, grinning, almost. 

He felt at least a little in control. Just a little. 

He watched Marvin take a long, deep breath before speaking. 

"Well, I just thought you'd like to that Trina is signing the divorce papers today, Whizzer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is the cause of my depression


	13. I'm Still Loose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whizzer wanted to drink the whole bottle of wine he had in his new apartment, but decided to save it until practice. He was going to need it, after being traded to the team that had the name Marvin Richards on their roster. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this a/n is going to be sort of long. 
> 
> As you have previously heard if you came from my other (less popular, if not equally popular) story, "Whizzer Wins", I have been taking a break from that story. And I'm really not quite sure when the break will resume.  
>    
> But that's just a side note-ish. 
> 
> This week is going to be filled with work and packing, because I will be heading to boarding school on August 20th. 
> 
> My updates after that will most likely be rare, so I'm trying to crank out at least 4-6 new chapters before I leave, and maybe even bring this lovely story to a (hint: happy) close. 
> 
> Anyways! That's all I have to say about this. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter my dudes, gals, and nonbinary pals.

TWO YEARS LATER

The biggest event of the year was happening in New York City, and lord knows it was barely hosted in New York, considering the crazy amount of people that would most likely attend. 

The Major League Baseball drafts, and trades. 

To put this simply enough, all the players that were previously on teams were up for trade, and that meant all. 

But sometimes trading wasn't easy. 

Whizzer Brown, top in the league of pitchers. The Falcons had won the World Series just the year before, and this task was just singlehandedly performed by the man himself. 

Many newspaper writers and reporters wondered how he had improved so much from his last season, and some even agreed that it was because he hadn't been talking to Marvin. 

Poor, poor Marvin. 

Marvin, at the bottom of the food chain. 

Seventh in the batting lineup, still playing third base. Easily forgotten, mostly. 

When Whizzer would look in the crowd, he'd be able to spot at least three people wearing his name on the back of their shirts, with a big number "5", his number. 

When Marvin would look in crowd, he wouldn't see any kids, or people for that matter, wearing number 89. Marvin was just another player on the field. 

That explained why he didn't get traded, just stuck happily in his place on the Tigers team, in his comfortable spot. 

Whizzer sometimes wished he could say the same. 

But he didn't seem too bothered, just sitting in the room, listening to his name called. 

The best part was, he pretty much couldn't be traded unless you were really willing to pay big bucks. In a sense, Whizzer cost money. A lot of it. 

Well, he pretty much couldn't be traded. That didn't mean he absolutely couldn't. 

Because whenever a team manger raised his hand, signed the check, and shook hands with Whizzer's coach, Whizzer's mouth was agape as chatter filled the room. 

"Whizzer Brown has been traded between Falcons to Tigers.  Welcome, Mr. Brown, you're a Tiger now."

Tigers. 

Marvin. 

_____

Whizzer wanted to drink the whole bottle of wine he had in his new apartment, but decided to save it until practice. He was going to need it, after being traded to the team that had the name Marvin Richards on their roster. 

But he didn't care, he got ready for practice, baseball pants and all, and carefully made his way to the locker room without saying anything to anyone who crossed his path. 

He was glad that when he walked in, Marvin was nowhere in sight. 

Nowhere in sight at the moment, but walked in five minutes later and just put his bag on the opposite end of the bench, not even making eye contact with Whizzer. 

"Whizzer Brown." Marvin murmured, shaking his head to himself as he started to tie up his cleats. 

Whizzer didn't reply. 

Marvin now looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. He was almost trying to fish for a response as he studied his face. 

Marvin hadn't seen anyone since Whizzer, in that fashion. Sure, he had met boys in bars since him and Trina got divorced, but none of them stayed around long enough. 

Marvin had aged just a little, looking more mature and growing out of his high school-ish face. His brown hair was more kept, still wavy in places to where he had to wear a baseball cap while playing. His eyes were still the piercing blue they were when him and Whizzer played against each other in high school. Most of his features stayed the same, but he looked like he had just aged. 

Or maybe the stress was noticeable. 

He knew it was the second one, by all means. 

Whizzer still didn't respond, even if Marvin was staring at him. 

"It's been, what, two years since we spoke? Or, since you spoke to me?" Marvin pushed the conversation too hard, as Whizzer crossed his arms. 

"I had every right to. You were nothing but cold and rude. And a liar. So if you think I'm going to fall for your act again, you thought damn wrong."

"Still as feisty as you were two years ago." Marvin cracked a grin. "And if you're wondering, twenty-two looks damn good on you."

If anything, Marvin was pretty correct. Whizzer did wear twenty-two well. His hair styled to perfection, were it would fall but not a lot in his face. When he smiled, his eyes squinted just a little, and his nose crinkled. He was just so good looking now, and it was hard to resist just kissing him there. 

And don't even get Marvin started on his body. Whizzer still was lanky, but his muscle showed in his arms and legs, and his ass. 

It was a sight to behold, and Marvin was talking it all in. 

"Sorry, I don't talk to perverts." Whizzer snapped. "Anyways, I have a boyfriend."

Lie. He barely saw anyone in the last two years. 

"Really?" Marvin countered, grinning. "Who is it?"

"Sorry, I like to keep it a secret, so the boy I'm screwing behind his back doesn't know about it until I get a concussion and they both show up at the hospital." Whizzer shrugged. 

Marvin's gaze hardened at the insult. "Now, don't be petty."

Marvin said that almost every time he quarreled with Whizzer. 

"But seriously, who is this boy?"

"Uh, nobody." Whizzer couldn't lie. "I just wanted to make a point. I don't have a boyfriend."

Marvin nodded at this one. "Okay, I'll make sure to remember that, then." This statement was followed by a wink, and Whizzer swore he gagged. 

"Just shut up. I don't want to be late for the meeting before practice even starts."

Whizzer left in a hurry, and Marvin took the time to take an eyeful of Whizzer's ass in as he breathed in, satisfied. 

Whizzer Brown was finally here, and he was going to make it right this time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked it!
> 
> comments and kudos mean a whole lot! <3


	14. What It Had Finally Come To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But they don't kiss. They just stand there for a while, looking at each other until Whizzer walks toward Marvin, embracing him in a large hug and just staying there for a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long, sappy a/n at the end. 
> 
> I'M SORRY!  
> I had three more chapters planned after this but I started writing and I realized this is the end.

Whizzer knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped into old habits. He sometimes wondered to himself if these habits were really bad, because he was enjoying talking and teasing Marvin again. 

Sometimes he guessed it was the rush, the thrill he got from messing with the slightly older man. But other times he knew, deep down, it was because a part of Whizzer, no matter how black and blue Marvin would make Whizzer's heart, still loved Marvin. 

He still loved Marvin as if nothing had happened. Maybe Marvin had finally changed. 

From what he saw, Marvin was changing, and he liked the change. 

Marvin seemed more sincere, more polite now. He picked his words carefully and tried not to offend. Whizzer knew that Marvin had to mentally count to ten before he could calm himself down, but he didn't care. As long he wasn't slamming Whizzer's head into the dashboard of his Ford pickup, he was happy. 

Marvin seemed genuine. It wasn't a fake listening now, like it was. He would look Whizzer in the eyes, and nod and talk back in a humanly fashion, instead of judging everything. He laughed and joked like normal, but never played games with Whizzer. 

Ever. 

But most of all, Marvin cared. He could just see it in his eyes, almost. And it made Whizzer's life a whole lot better. 

Because Marvin was moving on. 

And Whizzer was learning to forgive and forget. Because if you really love someone, you'll always forgive them, even if it means lying at an alarming risk. 

_____

Whizzer decided to take the day off at practice and headed to get his usual iced coffee. It was a lax enough routine, and the barista knew him by name. 

Looking up at the television, his name wasn't anywhere to be seen. He wasn't on the front page of the paper being portrayed as some whore Marvin picked off the street. 

He was known for his baseball talent, not for a sex scandal of any sort. 

And this made him smile, as he paid for his coffee and made sure to leave an extra tip, just because of how amazing he felt. 

How could his life be affected by the person he loved, Marvin? A whole damn lot. And most of it had to be taken into consideration that Marvin had changed his demeanor, but still had some on the old, and it made him love him even more. 

_____

Now, as Whizzer walked up to his comfortable home for one, he couldn't help but notice the Tupperware container sitting neatly on his doorstep. He furrowed his eyebrows, picking up the note that had been laid on the container. The note was written in all caps, and scribbled more than printed. 

"To Whom It May Concern, (Whizzer Brown)

Hello! I stopped by earlier to drop off this fruitcake but you weren't here, so I decided to write you a little note. 

I know this is a pitiful excuse, but this fruitcake serves as my apology. The fruitcake is more resembling of my apology, since it's long overdue, and probably wasn't even wanted in the first place."

Whizzer laughed at this. 

"But I am truly, seriously apologizing. For everything. Every single day of hell I've put you through. I'm sorry for lying to you about Trina, I really am. This all wouldn't have happened if I would have been honest and told you the truth.

I'm sorry for being manipulative of you. I'm sorry for baiting you so far down and path and abandoning you, and I'm sorry for trying to control you and who you see, even though you tried to cut me off. 

I'm sorry for lying on the news. I know, it was awful, but I still can't live with the guilt and shame that it brought me that night. You know I'd take it all back in a heartbeat. 

I'm especially sorry for hurting you mentally. Of saying things that didn't need to be said, and making you almost cry. And I'm sorry for physically hurting you on the way back from the airport. It still hurts to think about it all. 

So again, this is my apology. And the fruitcake is my apology as well. Take it, or leave it. It is really your choice. You can do what you wish, throw it away, put it in the trash compactor, feed it to the dog, or take it. The choice is yours. 

I've written down my number again at the bottom of the paper. I thought you may want to touch base, but I'll let you contact me. 

Thank you. 

All the best,   
Marvin Richards."

Whizzer didn't realize he was crying until he notice the tears staining the note that was written in blue gel pen. 

His chest hurt, his nose was stuffy, and his eyes were so watery. He felt so very tired, and awful. But he felt happy. He knew this wasn't a game with Marvin, he knew he was telling the truth. 

He just knew.

_____

The date was set, Marvin was coming over for drinks and spaghetti at eight o'clock sharp, and Whizzer was finally starting to doubt he'd show, he heard a familiar, yet eerily different knock on the door. 

But he still grinned from ear to ear when he saw Marvin standing in the door. 

"Good evening, Marvin. Don't you look great?" Whizzer nodded, not joking. When he looked over at Marvin, with his khaki pants, black shirt and red tie, he couldn't help but feel his face tint up red. 

Marvin looked better, healthier. Happier. 

Whizzer felt the same. 

_____

Marvin and Whizzer shared a bottle of wine over small talk about baseball and whatnot, and Marvin explained the Mendel and Trina fiasco. 

It caused Whizzer to laugh, at most. He really didn't expect for that pairing to pan out, but Mendel seemed like a sweet guy. 

They talked about other things while eating spagetti, like how Jason was finally talking. Whizzer felt so good on the inside when Marvin spoke of Jason, it seemed like Marvin lit up on the inside, so proud of his son. 

Whizzer kept searching for the right moment to speak, and that's when Marvin had taken a break from eating his pasta, now wiping off his mouth and taking a sip of wine. 

The words rolled off his tongue so easily because of his practice in the mirror, and Whizzer didn't feel any shame in saying it. 

"I still love you."

The room went silent for just a moment, the music in the background seeming to somewhat fade away. 

"I know." Marvin replied, biting his lip as he moved his hand to brush it over Whizzer's knuckles, then looking back up at him with a smile. "I still love you too. After two years of silence, I still love you."

Whizzer feels his smile soften with ease, now picking up the plates and taking them to the kitchen. 

And when he returns, Marvin is standing now too. 

But they don't kiss. They just stand there for a while, looking at each other until Whizzer walks toward Marvin, embracing him in a large hug and just staying there for a little. 

He wanted to stay there forever. 

And when he hears Marvin say, "I love you," he can't help but sniffle, because he knows he means it. 

And Whizzer had previously said his home was in Boston, but now he felt like his home was anywhere where Marvin Richards was. 

Because Marvin Richards would be the man by his side when he did so many things in the future, and he hoped that Marvin Richards was here to stay. 

Whizzer Brown loved Marvin Richards, because Marvin Richards learned how to love, finally. 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school is going to be so time-consuming, so I'm really grateful that I got to finish this before then. 
> 
> but I am really sad to see this one close! I loved all of the support from everyone, all the kudos left by every user, or guest, all the comments left on every chapter. you guys really helped move me along in this story, and I'm so happy you all got to enjoy the ride. 
> 
> if you enjoyed this story, and you think there's someone out there who would really like this, please share it. post it to your tumblr, even! i would just really enjoy to see work made by fans being spread by other fans. 
> 
> message me on tumblr @thebookofmckinley or on instagram @prettyboysindemand to talk about anything. 
> 
> I love you all, and have a safe school year! <3


End file.
